Stockton Unified Trustee AngelAnn Flores pleads not guilty to embezzlement, theft charges
A Stockton Unified School District trustee accused of misusing her district-issued credit card was back in court Wednesday where she entered a not guilty plea.
The brief hearing came after AngelAnn Flores was formally arraigned on embezzlement, grand theft, and false claims charges on May 6 in San Joaquin County Superior Court in downtown Stockton.
At Wednesday's hearing, Flores' attorney, former District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar, asked Judge Allan F. Jose to allow Flores to travel out of state to represent Stockton Unified at conferences and events. The judge approved.
The judge also said he would allow Verber Salazar to appear in court on Flores' behalf for a pre-preliminary hearing conference at 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 12 in Department 8B.
Flores, who represents Area 2 and had served as the school board's president in 2023, was arrested by sheriff's deputies on April 19 in central Stockton.
The trustee is accused of using public funds to purchase food and fuel for her personal gain, and knowingly filing a false insurance claim as a result of a non-SUSD-related vehicle accident, according to a sheriff's office statement.
In the criminal complaint, prosecutors claim the alleged credit card theft exceeded $950. However, they haven't publicly stated how much money in total they claim Flores misspent.
Jose ordered Flores to return to court for a preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 11 in Department 7B. The hearing is expected to take three to five days.
Verber Salazar says case is 'purely politically motivated'
Outside of the courthouse Wednesday, Verber Salazar said she believes the preliminary hearing "will be able to establish that this prosecution was purely vindictive, purely politically motivated, and designed to deter any whistleblowers from coming forward."
Since Flores' April arrest, Verber Salazar has claimed her client is a "victim of political retaliation, and is paying the price for raising her voice to fight corruption."
"That means if you're friends of the DA or the sheriff, you're probably not going to get prosecuted, but if you're not, you're likely going to be in trouble," Verber Salazar said.
Sheriff Patrick Withrow has denied his office acted out of retaliation.
"AngelAnn claims retaliation and our response is, retaliation to what?" Withrow said in an April statement. "We investigate any allegation with the utmost care, and when investigated, if wrongdoing is found, if the evidence is there, it's handled appropriately."
Verbar Salazar said Flores was working with federal investigators "to prosecute those who are responsible" for a $7.3 million district contract approved without proper bidding in August 2021.
Flores was the lone vote against the contract with IAQ Distribution, Inc., a subsidiary of Alliance Building Solutions, Inc., for air filter disinfectant technology. The contract was approved during the tenure of former Superintendent John Ramirez Jr. and former Board President Cecilia Mendez.
The air filter deal was heavily scrutinized in a February 2023 state Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team report. Two months after the state auditor report's release, District Attorney Ron Freitas' office said it would serve as a "launching point" for a multi-agency investigation with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Flores' case is the first known action against a school district official for alleged misappropriation since Freitas announced the probe. However, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office stated last fall that Flores' case was unconnected to any other federal investigation.
The DA’s office has shared no details about the broader investigation’s status following several requests by The Record starting in February, except to say it was ongoing.
Unanswered questions
Verber Salazar alleged on Wednesday that Freitas' friends are "closely associated" with the air filter deal, and evidence would be presented in court to show that.
Freitas was unavailable to speak to the press after Wednesday's hearing.
"That is an ongoing investigation, therefore we cannot provide you with a comment," Josie Heart, a spokesperson for the DA's office, said when asked if Freitas wanted to respond to the allegation.
"We have enough evidence right now, right here ... to try the case for the $7 million," Verber Salazar said. "He's declining to do so because his friends are involved."
She also pointed to a contract between the DA's office and Lee Neves' company CrossCurrents LLC.
As a campaign spokesman, Neves helped propel Freitas to the DA's seat in the 2022 election. Three months after Freitas assumed office, Neves' company landed a contract to do media and public communications on behalf of the DA's office.
Freitas' office paid Neves' company nearly $270,000 in county funds within eight months under the agreement, The Record reported in March. At the time, Freitas' office said he would provide no comment on the topic.
"The DA talks about transparency," Verber Salazar said. "Answer the question: Why'd you pay him $33,000 a month? Where's the transparency? Why haven't you charged the $7 million case? Where's the transparency?"
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton Unified Trustee AngelAnn Flores enters not guilty plea
